I wanted to introduce myself to the Z community as I just purchased a 2003 350 Z today.

As a middle-aged man with 3 kids, I am clearly having a mid life crisis and needed a fun car in my life. So I decided to pull the trigger on a Z.

I've been flip flopping on vettes, cts-v's and even vipers for a year. After much thought, my wife decided I didn't need an impractical car right now. So we went ahead and just purchased a Nissan Pathfinder Platinum (for her). There went my mid-life crisis budget! I realized this would push off my new ride at least a year as I was looking in the 30-40k range for a used car.

The 350z wasn't even on my radar until I happen to see some for sale online. When I saw this one, I fell in love with the styling and overall badassery of it. So I didn't hesitate to buy it, considering the cost was 1/4 of my original budget. I have never driven a Z, and really don't even see many in my area (Detroit), but it seems that will change in a week. Although, it will sit in my garage until the thaw.

I look forward to checking out everyone's Z's and sifting through the large amount of information on this website. Will I add twin turbos, a supercharger, or nothing? We shall see....

Here is the info on the new Z:

2003 Track Edition
Manual transmission

mods:
TAKEDA COLD AIR INTAKE SYSTEM
ARK GRiP CATBACK EXHAUST SYSTEM
INTAKE MANIFOLD LID SPACER
UPGRADED CLUTCH
BREMBO FRONT & REAR BRAKES

CARBON FIBER OEM STYLE HOOD
CARBON FIBER FRONT LIP
CARBON FIBER SIDESKIRTS
CARBON FIBER REAR LIP
CARBON FIBER REAR SPOILER
TINTED TAIL-LIGHTS
TINTED WINDOWS
20" BLAQUE DIAMOND WHEELS W/ NEW NITTO 555 PERFORMANCE TIRES
STREET GLOW UNDERCARRIAGE LED UNDERGLOW KIT (BLUE)
STREET GLOW LED WHEEL WELL UNDERGLOW KIT (BLUE)
STREET GLOW MULTI-COLOR INTERIOR LED KIT
CLEAR SIDEMARKERS
WHITE INTERIOR LED KIT
FULL CUSTOM JL AUDIO SUB AND AMP
PIONEER ACIC-Z130BT STEREO
TOUCHSCREEN NAVIGATION SYSTEM







Let's see if I can sneak this thing in the garage before the wife sees it.

-Greg

 

Under glow...?

 

Agreed lol. That's the first thing coming off, and the window tint. Both illegal in my hood, in addition to being ridiculous.

 

i would take the tint off the taillights.. its pretty dark

 

I agree on that as well.

 

congrats on the car, they are fun. from time to time i miss mine, but then when i hear my big v8 start up... i forget about it again. haha

 

Looks like it will clean up nice once you take off the uglies

 

I don't care what anyone says. A midlife crisis car is always a good idea.

 

Hmmm, haven't decided what mine's gonna be.

Ooops, passed that stage, now I just have cars I wanna drive.

 

Are you sure it's not actually your memory, old man?

 

Once you lose the underglow and tail light tint those wheels need to go next.

 

maybe it is, young whipper snapper

maybe i can talk stu into letting me drive it for old times sake

 

Not a fan of the wheels? I'm on the fence.
I think I will try the rims from my CTS and see how the look. They are 20" staggered. We shall see.

 

20's don't belong on a Z.

 

Same bolt pattern? Methinks the Caddy uses a larger PCD by a tad on the earlier models and a fair amount on the later. (Yes, I had a few Cads, not one I paid for....)

I'd agree. Mostly due to weight considerations.

 

Like dcains said, 20s don't look right on a Z and there's no reason for such heavy wheels on a sportscar. You'd be surprised how much the additional weight can affect acceleration, handling, and braking.

 

 

Caddy is 5 x 115
the rims are 5 x 114.3 with spacers.

 

What I said.... just wondering if those wheels would even slip onto the Z hub. In any event, they're still 20s so don't see the point of the exercise. Just for the aesthetic aspect maybe?

 

Congrats on the car man! Love the post about the wife. I went through the same thing, turned 40 last month and bought a 2003 Z as well. My wife was on board with the purchase though